SOS in Ypsi Courier

Austen Smith, the editor of the Ypsi Courier, attended an SOS tour a couple of weeks ago. As a result, he wrote a nice article in the Ypsi Courier about SOS: SOS looking for help to build facility

The article emphasizes our need for a new campus and also talks about many of the services we offer. Thanks for a great article, Austen!

In other news . . . July 4th is next week and I'll be on vacation, but there are plenty of great community events going on in the area. In case you lost track, you can check out arborweb.com, which lists all of the events coming up in the area.

A Healthy Field Trip with T4T

I had the pleasure of going on a field trip with the Time for Tots preschoolers today. We went to a Meijer in Belleville where a staff member gave us a healthy foods tour.

The children learned about how many veggies and fruits they should eat everyday (and no, it's not 2, it's 5-9). They got to play "guess that food," by sticking their hand in a paper bag to feel a fruit or veggie and guess what it was. The banana proved a lot easier to guess than the peach.

The kids then got a healthy snack of baby carrot sticks.

We started to walk again, but got sidetracked by the lobster tank. People eat those things?

We then moved on to the dairy section (mooing like cows all the way) and looked at all the milk. We talked about the different kinds of dairy products and got a fun treat: a cheese square stuck onto a pretzel stick. That was a winner.

We then got to check out the fish and bird tanks (yes there are live pet fish and fowl at Meijer). We talked a little about pets and how they can also keep us healthy and how we need to keep them healthy. Needless to say, the fish were a little distracting during this conversation.

Next was the snack food section where we talked about healthy snacks. Unhealthy snack: chips. Healthy snack: pretzels. And we each got a small bag of pretzels to munch on for the rest of the tour.

We wandered around for a bit until we reached the sports section. Every kid's hand went up when asked if they liked to swim. Kids also liked basketball, soccer, and other sports. We learned how important it is to be safe while having fun.

As the tour concluded, we all got goodie bags filled with healthy snacks (and not so healthy, but fun, snacks) and activity sheets and more.

All and all, it was a very enjoyable experience, and we didn't even have to buy anything.

I can only imagine the scene tonight when the preschooler's tell their parents about the day (then we mooed, and saw some fish eat some pretzels and . . .)

Could social isolation lead to homelessness?

There was a sobering article published in the News on Sunday from the Washington Post titled Social Isolation Growing in U.S., Study Says

The article reported the results from a result study conducted by the National Science Foundation. The General Social Survey, as the survey is known, is based on high-quality random reponses.

Among the findings were: "Compared with 1985, nearly 50 percent more people in 2004 reported that their spouse is the only person they can confide in. But if people face trouble in that relationship, or if a spouse falls sick, that means these people have no one to turn to for help"

This is EXACTLY what happens for many homeless families. I recall one women I spoke with who had two small children. She became homeless because her husband left for another state to find a better job . . . and never came back. She was left with a ton of debt and no one to turn to, so she came to SOS and the Interfaith Hospitality Network.

Women especially can be vulnerable to homelessness because they are more likely to experience domestic violence and because the job of child care often falls on women.

I fear more and more "well off" people in our community will become homeless, all because they had no one else to turn to.

What can you do? The article points to the obvious suggestion of making sure you have more than one or two people you can depend on. Get to know your neighbors (at least their names), job a group or church. Get yourself out there.

However, the article also points out that becoming socially engaged is no longer as easy as it once was. We are all busy, we are all working, none of us have time.

We need to hold our communities as a whole accountable for fostering social interaction. We need to realize that our society has made it difficult to find time to be part of our communities. This could mean talking to our elected representatives or supporting groups that advocate community involvement.

SOS Community Services has built itself on the idea that the community cares about those in need. I think we can all make an effort to care about our community, and to realize the importance of an engaged community for all people involved.

Community News

There are some great discussions of regional transportation and police brutality on the Arbor Update blog. I recommed you visit the site and check them out!

Summer SOS Alert is here!

Get it online before it gets in the mail! Here's the link to the Newsletter (you need Adobe Acrobat to read it): SOS Alert Summer 2006

As always, any comments are greatly appreciated!
--Nancy

An Elderly Man, A Condemned House, and a Plan

There was an interesting article in the Ann Arbor News yesterday about an elderly man who lives on Granger Street in Ann Arbor. You can read the article here: Healthy man longs to leave nursing home . . .

He and his brother were unable to keep the house in livable condition so it was declared condemned and the brothers were sent to a nursing home. One of the brothers died. The other is trying to go back to his house. A proposal was made to demolish the house and put in a house made by WCC students, which, after the man's death, would be permanently affordable. However, some wonder if the cost of the proposal is too much for one house (the City of Ann Arbor would have to pay some of the cost). The article brings up some interesting issues, including the lack of affordable housing in Ann Arbor. A staff member at SOS also shares her thoughts:

This is a moving story! It seems to me that “long term investment to the community” begins with one single step. Is it “worth the money we’re investing for what we will get out of it”???? What price tag do we put on human life???

I am inspired by the sacrifice of this man…caring for his brother for so many years. It seems to me that the community owes James Doyle more than a nursing home for his final days.


What do you think?

Women who lead

I recently had the pleasure of attending the Women's Leadership Training. SOS created the training to help the mothers that use our services develop the confidence and skills they need to advocate for themselves and their children.

It's an 8-week training and it covers topics ranging from finances to accessing services.

The six women who went through the training were just incredible. They didn't know each other well (or at all) beforehand and through being in the group, the women developed friendships that will continue to enrich their lives.

All of us can benefit from a support network of others who understand us, and these six homeless women were no different.

I was really struck by something many of the women said. When asked what they think they learned from the training, many of the women said they learned the importance of taking care of their finances.

I couldn't help thinking of all of the woman I know who, with a divorce or the loss of their spouse, could end up homeless.

I think all of us could learn how to better take care of our finances. I am so glad SOS makes the effort to give woman the skills they need to escape homelessness and make more informed decisions in the future.

Helping SOS shouldn't be meaningless

I just read an interesting article on another blog (click here to see it).

It dealt with the fact that many organizations use words like value, service, quality, and make a difference to describe their work without explaining or defining what these words mean. In effect, the fluff becomes meaningless and organizations fail to create a justifiable reason for their exisitence.

I have to say, as a newcomer at SOS and a writer of many of our documents, this article really made me think (and hide my head in shame at some of the fluff I have written).

Why should you care about SOS? What do we provide that makes us unique and important to the community? I'll give you my view, but I encourage you to post a comment or email me your thoughts (nancys@soscs.org).

A big reason I think SOS is important is that we really and truly help people that don't have anyone else to turn to. I was at our Crisis Center the other day and two young white women walked in. They had both lost their jobs and basically had to push their car to the Crisis Center because they had no gas. They needed help, right now. And we could help. We could give them food and a gas voucher and a list of other places to go to get resources. More importantly, however, all of the staff approached these women in a respectful manner. We didn't look down on them or ask them to justify their need. We just listened and did the best that we could to help them. And our attitude is the result of intensive training we give both our volunteers and our staff.

I can tell you that this simple act, treating someone who is down on their luck with care and respect is really meaningful. I can't tell you how many times a consumer says thank you to me as they leave.

Something else that always gets to me are the kids. We help so many families make sure their kids are safe while they go out to find a job or other assistance. Some of these kids bear the wounds of homelessness, others are as cheery and friendly as any kid you could meet. I believe by being there for families, by offering them a safe and supportive place for their kids, we are making a positive difference in their lives.

I could go on and on. I think the point I am making is that SOS is about so much more than "good service", or "value", or "making a difference", SOS is about connecting with people in the community (businesses, other nonprofits, volunteers, universities and more) to help homeless families achieve economic, family, and residential stability. This is what we do. How can we do it even better?

Michigan Daily Article on Homelessness

Theresa Kennelly wrote a very good article on chronic homelessness for the Michigan Daily

She points out that while chronically homeless individuals make up only about 10% of the homeless population, their numbers, and the money needed to support them, are increasing.

She also describes the need for permanent supportive housing for the chronically homeless that does not discriminate against these individuals, regardless if they use drugs or other substances.

She talks about the benefits of this housing model (called Housing First), which places people in permanent supportive housing rather than in aggregate shelters.

While it is certainly true that the 10% of chronically homeless individuals could benefit from the Housing First model, the same can also be said for the other 90%.

Especially for homeless families, which is a segment of the homeless population that is on the rise.

No homeless mother wants to crowd her child into a large shelter where she has no control over when the child eats, or goes to bed.

No homeless child wants to tell her friends at school that she lives in a shelter. Or that she lives in a car because the shelter is too full.

No homeless father wants to move from shelter to shelter without the security of an address to call his own.

Homeless families can most definitely benefit from being placed directly into a home, then given supportive services until they can make it on their own.

Although many homeless families are invisible, their needs are quite real.

Fun Ideas for the Summer

Well summer is just around the corner and I'd thought I'd list a cool thing groups can do that would REALLY help us get through these months. Remember, hunger doesn't go on vacation! Oftentimes summer is the slowest time for us in terms of donations, but we definitely need them!

What you can do:

Host a drive for food, personal care items, or school supplies.

These are three things we are always in need of. Get your church or other organization together to make a difference in the lives of homeless families! Call Brenda at 734-484-9905 or email brendab@soscs.org for more info. Or, get all the info from our website by going here: Organize a Drive

You Can't Hear Me

Because I don't have a phone.

This may come as a suprise to you, but there are still many people out there that don't have access to a phone. Any phone.

I was volunteering at our Crisis Center yesterday and several people came in not for food or utility assistance, but just to use the phone.

Talk about something many of us take for granted. Consider how hard it would be do to your job if you didn't have a phone. How would you even get a job?

It's times like these when I see how important community-based organizations are. For someone to be able to come into SOS and use the phone for free is a tremendous help to many people. In the age of personal cell phones, personal computers, and private lives, there are still many people who depend on the community for help. Let's not forget that fact.

Yard Sale Thank Yous

The Normal Park Yard Sale was really fun on Saturday! It's great to see so many members of a community come together and have a great time. The weather was perfect. And many people were donating the money earned from their goods to good causes, such as UNICEF and, of course, SOS Community Services.

Board member Peri Stone-Palmquist would like to thank everyone who helped out with the yard sale:

"Big thanks goes to Board member Leslie Desmond, LaVerne Jackson Barker, Nancy Shore, and my pal Annette Rook for donating things to sell. A huge thanks to my husband, Matt Stone-Palmquist for hauling the heavy play structure around."

The Yard Sale benefit is one of the many ways staff, board members, and community folks show their commitment to helping homeless families.

Have a creative idea for an event or fundraiser for SOS? Let us know (you can email me, nancys@soscs.org)! We're always open to new ideas and fresh perspectives.

Yard Sale + SOS Benefit = FUN!

Don't miss the very annual and always fun Normal Park Yard Sale this Saturday, June 3rd from 9am-4pm in Ypsilanti's Normal Park.

SOS Board Member Peri Stone-Palmquist will be selling items to benefit SOS. She's at 1008 W. Cross St.

Why not put on your shopping shoes and head on down to Normal Park? The weather should be great and who knows what you'll find!

Where is Normal Park, you ask? Here's the coordinates, according to the Normal Park Neighborhood Association's Website:

Normal Park is located on the west side of the City of Ypsilanti, Washtenaw County, Michigan. It covers the area bounded by the south side of Washtenaw Avenue on the north, Congress Street on the south, Mansfield Street on the west, and the west side of Summit Street on the east. Approximately 700 households are in the Normal Park neighborhood, all of which are automatically members of the neighborhood association.

Hope to see you there!